A BUSY Hereford road will be closed for a week longer than planned.

The A438 Ledbury Road has been closed between the bridge over the River Lugg near Lugwardine and Netherwood Lane, opposite the Cock of Tupsley, from July 31.

It was due to re-open today (Friday) but Western Power Distribution (WPD), which has closed the road to carry out work, said due to technical issues the road will have to be closed for another week.

WPD team manager Jane Rawlings said: “This part of the A438 runs over a number of bridges and culverts and we needed to undertake work to strengthen the road and protect the cable that runs beneath it.

“After we began excavation works we discovered technical issues that meant the structural reinforcement of the two bridges had to be redesigned, re-engineered and approved by the local authority.

“This was a considerable amount of extra work and we were unable to complete it in the original timescales. We apologise for the delay as we appreciate residents and businesses are looking forward to getting back to normal.”

The work has been carried out to protect an electricity cable which supplies power to 8,000 people in Hereford.